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| Kingdoms / Animalia / Craniata / Aves / Anseriformes / Anatidae / Dendrocygna / Species |
| < > Dendrocygna viduata - White-faced whistling-duck (Click photographs/illustrations: full picture & further details) |
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Alternative Names (Synonyms) |
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| White-faced Tree duck Witwenpfeifgans (German) Dendrocygne veuf (French) Dendrocygne à face blanche (French) Pato silbador cara blanca (Spanish) Suirirí Cariblanco (Spanish) |
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Names for newly-hatched |
Duckling, downy |
Names for non-breeding males or other colour-phases |
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Species Author |
Debra Bourne |
Major References |
B1, B3, B4, B8, B19, B25, B26 Aviculture references: |
Other References |
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TAXA Group (where information has been collated for an entire group on a modular basis) |
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Parent Group |
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Specific Needs Group referenced in Management Techniques |
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Aviculture Information |
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Notes |
General information: Whistling-ducks generally do well, either in pens or in a park with access to extensive water area and good natural cover. They are gregarious outside the breeding season, and groups may bully smaller duck species, so should be kept in large areas, in which other birds have room to escape. Most need shelter in severe weather and a well-sheltered pen with frost-free night quarters for winter is suggested, or plenty of ground cover and/or straw to stand on, as they are susceptible to frostbite. They may be kept fully-flighted in aviaries, and have also been kept full-winged in open pens, tending not to wander. Perches should be provided at an appropriate height for pinioned or wing-clipped birds. Commercial pellets and grain are suitable for feeding. Elevated nest boxes are appreciated by most species, although pinioned birds will use ground-level boxes; boxes may be placed over water or land. Eggs may be incubated by bantams and ducklings may be bantam-reared. Many species have been successfully parent-reared in captivity. Pairs kept isolated and fully flighted in a covered pen, with high-hung nest boxes "seldom fail to rear broods" (B7). Whistling-duck species may hybridise with one another and therefore should be kept in separate enclosures, and hybridisation has also occasionally been reported with Netta peposaca - Rosy-billed pochard. Species-specific Information: White-faced whistling-ducks are fairly easy to breed. They sometimes nest in ground vegetation, may also use a ground-level or raised nest box or a hollow log screened with vegetation, usually laying in late April to June. Ducklings may be parent hatched and reared, or an incubator or broody may be used. Care and protection are important for the ducklings initially. (J23.13.w10, B29, B30, B96, B97, D1). Aviornis UK Ringing Scheme recommended average closed ring size: L 11.0mm (D8). |
Management Techniques |
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External Appearance (Morphology)
Measurement & Weight |
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| Length | 17-19 inches, 43-48cm (B3); 38-48cm (B1) | |
| Adult weight | General | 502-820g (B1); average 1.5lb (B8). |
| Male | 637-735g, average 686g (B3). | |
| Female | 502-820g average 662g (B3). | |
| Newly-hatched weight | -- | |
| Growth rate | -- | |
| Adult | Bill | Male | Black with pale subterminal band (just behind nail). |
| Variations (If present) | -- | ||
| Eyes (Iris) | Male | Dark brown. | |
| Variations (If present) | -- | ||
| Juvenile | Bill | Black with pale subterminal band (just behind nail). | |
| Eyes (Iris) | Dark brown. | ||
| Adult | Male | Grey. |
| Variations (If present) | -- | |
| Juvenile | Grey. | |
| Adult | Male | Head and neck: white
face, throat and front half of head to behind eyes, contrasting with black rear of head
and rear of upper neck, shading into chestnut foreneck lower hindneck and upper breast. Lower breast, abdomen, ventral area and tail black. Flanks vermiculated (finely barred) black and white. Upperparts dark brown with buff feather edges, particularly on scapulars. Wing Dark brown. |
| Variations (If present) | -- | |
| Juvenile | Duller: face and throat grey or pale buff, breast duller chestnut. | |
Newly-hatched Characteristics |
| General: Upperparts dark
olive-brown with large yellow spots on wings and back. Underparts yellow. Face
streaked. Bill: Grey Feet: Grey |
Reproductive Season |
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| Time of year | Begins at the start of the rainy season. |
| No. of Clutches | -- |
Nest placement and structure |
| On the ground or over water, in long grass or reedbeds, occasionally in tree cavities or forks of branches. Substantial nest of vegetation with no or little down. |
Egg clutches |
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| No. of Eggs | Average | 10 (B8). |
| Range | 4-13 (B1); 4-16 (B8). | |
| Egg Description | Smooth, creamy white. Size: 47 x 37mm, weight: 36g (B3). | |
| 26-28 days (B1, B8). |
| Synchronous. |
| About 8 weeks (B1); 45-68 days (B8). |
Sexual Maturity |
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| Males | -- |
| Females | -- |
Feeding Behaviour |
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| Adults | Mostly feeds by diving also surface dabbling and wading. |
| Newly-hatched | -- |
Parental Behaviour |
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| Nest-building | -- |
| Incubation | Both incubate and defend the nest. |
| Newly-hatched | Both look after the ducklings, concealing unfledged youngsters in thick vegetation. |
| Juveniles | -- |
Social Behaviour |
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| Intra-specific | Nest in small groups or loose colonies. Form large flocks containing thousands of birds. |
| Inter-specific | Sometimes mix with Dendrocygna bicolor - Fulvous whistling-ducks and Dendrocygna autumnalis - White-backed whistling-ducks in loafing areas, but within these aggregations they generally remain in groups of their own species. |
Sexual Behaviour |
| Form strong, probably life-long pair bonds. |
Predation in Wild |
| Ducklings taken by caiman, Jabiru storks, Maguari storks and caracaras. |
| Loaf during the day on sandbars and mudflats. | |
| Circadian | Generally crepuscular or nocturnal, but do also forage during the day. |
| Varied diet including grass, seeds, rice and aquatic invertebrates (molluscs, insects, and crustaceans). |
| -- |
Distribution and Movement (Migration etc.) |
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| Normal | Tropical America:
Costa Rica to north Argentina and Uruguay. Africa: south of Sahara from Senegal to
Ethiopia and south to South Africa, also Madagascar and Comoro Islands. Local movements depending on water availability. |
| Occasional and Accidental | Occasionally move longer distances: reported in Spain and on Caribbean islands. |
| Introduced | -- |
| Any wetlands, particularly fresh water in open country, tending to avoid wooded/forested areas. |
Intraspecific variation |
| -- |
Conservation Status |
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| Wild Population - (Importance) |
Not globally threatened. May number 2,300,000 in Africa and are also numerous in South America. |
| CITES listing | Cites III in Ghana. |
| Red-data book listing | -- |
| Threats | -- |
Captive Populations |
| Common in collections. |
| -- |
